Why we love Castle Fraser, Garden & Estate

Transcript

Four speakers: Shona Collie (Visitor Services Supervisor); Michael Fraser (Visitor Services Assistant); Tim Buchan (Gardener); Kerry Clark (Seasonal Gardener)

Shona
My name is Shona and I am the Visitor Services Supervisor here at Castle Fraser.
Castle Fraser is situated about a 25-minute drive from the city of Aberdeen.
It is one of Scotland's largest tower houses and there's been a structure here since 1454. It was held by 15 generations of Frasers, and in 1976 it was given to the Trust, and since then it's been in our care, still much-loved.
In the summer months we have some pretty large-scale events but the most exciting things for us are our in-house events, which cover Easter, Halloween and of course Christmas.
All of the funds raised by events go towards supporting the work that we do here.

Within our Courtyard you'll find our gift shop, which is home to some amazing gifts, some bespoke Fraser items, perfect souvenirs, as well as the Castle Fraser honey.
In the cafe we've got a lovely team who provide freshly baked scones and they use as much of the walled garden produce as they can.

The castle is home to a lot of quirky items!
It's got spy holes, trap doors, but also most interestingly one of its residents -- Charles Mackenzie Fraser -- he lost his leg in the Battle of Burgos, and we are the proud owners of one of his wooden legs.

Michael
My name is Michael Fraser. I'm a Visitor Services Assistant at Castle Fraser.
I love it because it changes my mood when I come into the place in the morning.
As soon as I get across the top of that drive there and look down at this building that's behind me, it just brings my mood right up.
It is a fantastic example of a 15th-century Z plan castle.
The spy hole in the Bailiff's Room may have been used when there were still practising Catholics in the castle, even though it was after the Reformation. Therefore, the spy hole may have alerted them to people coming through the front door, that they would have had to hide the priest from.
From the top of the Round Tower, you get a perfect view of the gardens that were laid out by Elyza Fraser and her companion Miss Bristow in the late 1700s/early 1800s.
The landscape you're looking at now is the landscape they designed then.

Tim
My name's Tim. I'm a gardener here at the National Trust for Scotland's Castle Fraser.
Castle Fraser is a castle that sits really well in its landscape.
When you come into the estate and you're greeted by that avenue of sycamore trees that point down to the castle, you feel really settled in the site, and the garden is a complement to that.
We are quite an intensive garden. There's a lot to do throughout the year.
We have myself, the Head Gardener and seasonal staff, and we also have a lot of volunteers who help throughout the year. We wouldn't be able to do what we do without the volunteers.
I think what I love most about the garden is it's unexpected.
I think people arrive, and they go through the small gate, and then they have to make a decision which way to walk around the garden. Before they know it, they're opened up to lots of different views.
It's always nice to see the reaction of people, and I think what's great is when they come, they're able to sit down and relax in the garden.
It's quite a tranquil space; it's nice that people can just enjoy the garden for what it is.
It makes you feel good after all the hard work we do throughout the year.

Kerry
My name's Kerry. I work as a seasonal gardener for the National Trust for Scotland.
My favourite bit in the whole garden is a place just about over here.
If you look in the direction of the castle, you've got the garden in the foreground, you've got this amazing castle a bit further away and then you've got the whole of the countryside in the background.
I love this place because the people I work with are amazing; we're such a great team.
We've always got each other's backs, we're always laughing; we're always having fun, which is great.
And I love the visitors because they always want to be here.
They've always got such lovely things to say about the garden, which really makes my job so easy.

Shona
I love Castle Fraser because I'm able to do the work that I love in a place that I love, with a passionate and enthusiastic team of staff and volunteers.
Every day is a school day; no two days are the same.
It means that I have learned a lot from my peers here, from the gardens, the collections -- yeah, I love my team!